Texas library could be eliminated weeks after banned books return

Texas officials will meet Thursday to decide the fate of the Llano County library system, as all three public branches face closure after a federal judge ordered the return of 12 books banned from shelves this month .

Seven residents sued Llano County over the book ban, noting that all of the books contained LGBTQ+ and race-related themes. The residents filed a civil lawsuit in April 2022, alleging their First and 14th Amendment rights were violated when local authorities deemed the books too inappropriate and removed them.

On April 1, a judge ordered not only that the books return to library shelves, but that they also be available in the library system’s catalog. When he overturned the county’s ban, Austin, Texas-based U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman ordered the reinstatement of the banned books within 24 hours.

“Defendants must return all printed books that have been removed because of their view or content,” Pitman wrote.

According to the library board, the books were removed from the shelves because they encouraged “child grooming” and contained drawn nudity.

Newsweek contacted the Llano Library System and county officials via email Monday evening.

The Llano County Library’s ban has drawn national attention, with many outraged by the removal of the book, which stems from library board officials claiming it “because they’re not from agreement with the ideas” contained in the books, according to the lawsuit.

PSA: If you ban books and even entire libraries, chances are you’re not the good guys of the story. https://t.co/Gg4tVOccGq

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) April 11, 2023

Some of the controversial tiles include: Caste: the origins of our discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson; They called themselves the KKK: the birth of an American terrorist group, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; And Being Jazz: My Teenage Life (Transgender), by Jazz Jennings.

Books line the stacks of the Rice University library on April 26, 2022 in Houston, Texas. State officials will meet on Thursday to decide the fate of the Llano County library system, which could be closed after a U.S. judge ordered the re-shelving of 12 books banned this month.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Book bans have increased in the United States over the past few years, and as of last year there were thousands of books banned in the United States. advocacy organization.

Of all those books banned in schools, 41% have LGBTQ+ content, according to a study. A record number of book censorship requests also peaked last year, the American Library Association (ALA) found. A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship in 2022, a 38% increase from 1,858 in 2021, according to the ALA.

A Texas librarian said she was ordered to remove an exhibit in honor of Banned Books Week because a parent complained. His refusal sparked a viral debate on TikTok and other social media platforms.

In Virginia, 21 books have been removed from a school library over adult content, including works by Stephen King and Margaret Atwood.

The special meeting to determine the future of Llano County Libraries is set for 3 p.m. Thursday local time.

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